


hands over my eyes

by orphan_account



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, M/M, and just kinda bad in general??? im tired, everyone except baekxing gets like 2 lines each, honestly i'd say this was like a weird fluff/crack situation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-30
Updated: 2017-04-30
Packaged: 2018-10-26 00:25:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10775619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: "Baekhyun gazes down at the back of his hand in dismay. Grappling with his memory of high school Chinese classes, he tries to decipher the characters imprinted on his hand but he knows it's no use."soulmates AU where when you write on your skin, it appears on your soulmates' skin too





	hands over my eyes

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Caitlinsginger](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Caitlinsginger/gifts).



> hello lads
> 
> so i wanted to know how language and country barriers would affect soulmates so i wrote this pretty quickly and its not great but i tried my best and that is what counts !
> 
> i wrote this for cj because it is (was) her birthday!!! i hope u like it 
> 
> also: no yixing in the first chap - he's in the 2nd tho

Baekhyun gazes down at the back of his hand in dismay. Grappling with his memory of high school Chinese classes, he tries to decipher the characters imprinted on his hand but he _knows_ it's no use. He tries not to feel too disheartened; after 5 years of correspondence strictly through little illustrations of flowers and cute animals crawling up his arms, his soulmate had finally actually _said_ something to him. Every time Baekhyun had pushed the boat out with a small “hello ~” or similar greeting, his soulmate would seemingly retreat back into their shell and Baekhyun’s arms would remain barren for weeks. But this time, his own soulmate had left something to tell Baekhyun, who feels his heart swell at the realisation. His _soulmate_ was talking to him, even if it is in Chinese. So instead, he focuses on the string of numbers that follow.

 

“Do you think I should call?” Baekhyun asks his best friend of 10 years, who conveniently happens to be lying on his stomach on the elder’s bed.

 

“Is that even a phone number? I don’t know anywhere in the country with that area code.”

 

“Okay, so maybe it’s an international phone. Should I call?”

 

“You don’t even speak Chinese.”

  
  
“Love crosses the boundaries of language, Jongdae.” Baekhyun’s giggle is muffled by the pillow thrown at his face. “I just wanna know what he sounds like.”

 

“They. You wanna know what _they_ sound like.” Jongdae fixes Baekhyun with an intense stare. “Anyway, I think it’s a bad idea. At least get Lu Han to translate the letters first.”

  
  
“Yeah, I’ll just have Lu Han sit in on my conversations with my soulmate for the rest of my life then.” the elder mutters, his lips form a small pout at the thought.

 

He doesn't know when it will fade so slowly, the blonde copies out the characters onto the back of an old shopping receipt, taking every care to include every stroke in every character and letting himself bask in the fact that his _soulmate_ had done exactly this, just half an hour ago.

 

“Where’s this from?” Lu Han asks when Baekhyun presents him with the receipt at a burger joint nearby. The latter just waves his hands dismissively.

 

“Not important. What does it say?”

 

“It’s just someone’s phone number probably - why do you want to know?”

 

“What do the characters say, Lu Han?” Baekhyun feels his frustration rise with the man sitting opposite him. Jongdae makes his way through the throng of university students and slides into the booth next to Baekhyun.

 

“It’s from his soulmate so he’s a bit angsty about it.”

 

“Oh.” A pause. “Well, it’s a name: Mei Xian and then a number. It must be a Chinese number - I think that area code is from Beijing. Maybe they want you to call?”

  
Baekhyun lets this sink in. “I don’t speak Chinese.” he frowns, staring intently at the foreign characters. _Mei Xian_. “Is that a typically feminine or masculine name?”

 

“It’s gender neutral, actually.” Lu Han replies, scratching his head. “It’s not that popular though.”

 

“So their parents are unique and progressive. Got it.” Baekhyun notes. He doesn’t want to admit it but he’s desperate for whatever information he can glean about his soulmate.

 

“Baekhyun, that might not even be your soulmate’s name.” Jongdae places a hand on the elder’s arm.

 

“Why else would he write that?”

  
  
“Why are you so sure they’re a he?”

 

At this, Baekhyun squirms uncomfortably. “I just get the feeling. Anyway, now I know their name, I can call them, right?”

 

“What are you going to say?” Lu Han asks.

 

“I - I don’t know. I just want to hear their voice.”

 

“So, you’re gonna call and hang up?”

 

That’s precisely what he does. A mere few hours later and in the safety of his own bedroom, Baekhyun holds the phone to his ear cautiously until a female voice picks up and the blonde nearly drops it. After some stuttering and fumbling, Baekhyun hangs up, letting out a little groan of frustration as he throws himself into a chair. Upon some further thought, she sounded - nice, albeit slightly frustrated by the lack of response on his end. She still sounded nice, Baekhyun thought.

 

The next few days, Baekhyun doesn’t try to contact his soulmate. He tries to swallow the gnawing guilt every time he sees another drawing flit across the surface of his skin but he can’t help but feel uneasy. He’d always been responsive to every blot of ink that appeared on his body and tried to constantly validate their drawings with little compliments, but honestly what’s the point if they don’t know what he’s saying? He tries not to feel too sorry for himself as he cradles the strawberry daquiri in his hands, trying to hone in on the song blaring out of the speakers in his and Jongdae’s apartment.

 

“I’ve never seen you this quiet.” Junmyeon weaves through the party guests and approaches him with a small smile. Baekhyun always thought his and Junmyeon’s way of conversation was polite and awkward. It had been this way since Jongdae met Junmyeon for the first time a few months back.

 

“Why is this soulmate thing so hard? You and Jongdae had it so fucking easy.” The younger of the two lets the words spill from his lips before he realises. He has never once envied Jongdae, nor been anything but thrilled for his best friend and Junmyeon recognises the lack of bitterness in the younger’s tone.

 

“It’s not easy for anyone, Baekhyun. The universe doesn’t just give you a soulmate to land in your lap and be with you forever.” Junmyeon’s voice is soft.

 

“It did for you. You literally live in the same town.”

  
  
“We still have our problems. Jongdae is still hurt that I ignored him for all those years. He’s frustrated that I’m still keeping my distance but he’s so young and I can’t ignore that. I don’t have a choice.” The elder was 30 years old and Baekhyun knew that despite what Jongdae said about their 12 year age gap, Junmyeon was still clearly uneasy. Baekhyun feels his shoulders droop.

 

For a permanently and determinedly optimistic person, a growing distrust in the notion of true love feels incredibly depressing. But, Baekhyun decides, his charm is his resilience and if he has to work for a shot at meeting his soulmate, he would. After all, the universe doesn’t pick favourites.

**Author's Note:**

> holy shit this might be the first ever fic i actually finish
> 
> also i know bbh isnt as bubbly as we all would like - treat this chapter as a prelude and i pretty sure the 2nd chapter will be better
> 
> here's my tumblr and here is cj's tumblr!!


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